Star Waka: Poems by Robert Sullivan

by Robert Sullivan

Published on the cusp of the new millennium, Maori poet Robert Sullivan’s third book of poems, Star Waka, explores themes of journeying and navigation, moving back and forth in time and focus to confront colonisation, contemporary political issues and personal questions of family and identity. It came with some strings each poem had to feature either a star, a waka (canoe) or the ocean. Within these parameters, and in 2001 lines, Sullivan creates 100 poems that, he says, themselves function like a ‘members of the crew change, the rhythm and the view changes – it is subject to the laws of nature’.

Genres: Poetry, Indigenous

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert Sullivan (born 1967) is a Māori writer from Aotearoa/New Zealand. He is a member of the hapu Ngati Manu, and the iwi Nga Puhi Nui Tonu of Northland. He is also of Kai Tahu and Galway Irish descent.
He graduated from the University of Auckland with an MA and worked as associate professor of English and director of the Creative Writing Programme at the University of Hawai'i. He is an award-winning poet.

Reviews

[Always Becominging · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the ambition and scope of this book. Sullivan sets himself a clear constraint and yet still manages to be discursive and far reaching. This is a work of history, whakapapa, diary, science fiction, oceans, stars, and waka.

[honor · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked this! i loved the continuous threads throughout and how every poem was connected to multiple others.

[Lana · Rating 3 out of 5]

When reading Star Waka attempt to start in a good mood with a clear and awake head. For those who aren't from New Zealand, or have no concept of Te Reo, the Maori language, I advise either to have a copy of the english edition, which has a glossary, or a Maori dictionary at hand. Robert Sullivan made the fair assumption that New Zealanders wounldn't need a gloss, as they are more likely to understand the language used within the collection or have easier access to a Maori dictionary than english readers, as in readers in england.

I digress.

At first I was bitter in my judgements and set about editing what he had written to suit my personal poetry style, however as I continued I found the poetry more enjoyable, and in particular rather interesting after attending the lecture he gave on this collection. Finishing it in a day I decided that Star Waka is brilliant, repititive admittidly, but that is the point, as Sullivan explained, the poems must include either a reference to a Waka, a Maori canoe, a Star, or a third theme, which currently escapes me.

The collection is to be read as a book, one poem after the other, all relating, intertwining, and leading from the last. In a hundred poems, intended as a 'millenial sweep' according to Sullivan, he manages to create a balance between the serious and comic, with some very grand references to Maori culture, of course, as well as some brief history.

This collection holds quite a few gems and is thouroughly interesting. Also, when reading, keep in mind the theme of postcolonialism or colonialism.

[Zachary Ngow · Rating 5 out of 5]

lent this book to a friend and now have to ask for it back !

[Morvling Bookink · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pieces of this book all fit together so perfectly, the whole concept of this book makes so much SENSE and it's ataahua to say the least.
There are people who you really think "wow, they're speaking my language" and for me, one of them is this author. These works are the perfect mix of colloquial, deceptively simple, yet also complex in meaning (it's clear this man has a PhD hahaha). I love this book, man.
Also love the entire thing being about culture but not necessarily ancestry - his identity is how he interprets his ancestry.

[Uvrón]

I enjoyed the more imaginative poems, especially the fantastic poem about an actual space waka that communicates something rare and special about that desire to leave the Earth and the reality of it. The project is a lot more wide-ranging than I expected, with quite a few straightforward factual poems about Aotearoa history, which made it hard to flow through the book. Leaving it unrated as I don’t know enough about the topic to be a good reader, and poetry is usually difficult for me without another person’s help.

[Katie Proctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I said while I was reading this that this book would do numbers if it was written by a white person and I stand by that. I really enjoyed the style of this - very experimental and interesting, doing a lot of different things in just over 100 pages. I particularly liked the conversational poems and I enjoyed the fact that there was a huge mix of really important and serious poems as well as more sarcastic and almost humorous ones. Really liked!

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing poetry from an absolute master.

[Kelsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Star Waka' was quite an interesting set of poems, especially since many were based in the 'now' rather than the cliche 'back-in-my-glorious-day'. The actual presentation of the poems on the page added a unique touch.

[Raciel jasper forsythe · Rating 2 out of 5]

i suprisingly didn't hate it as much as i expected, given my distaste for poetry.

[birdmaddgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accretes beautifully, opens a space from the stars